Texas brisket

Texas Brisket Wrapped in Butcher Paper

I have been cooking a lot of brisket lately.  It is my favorite bbq meat.  I guess I am a Texan at heart.  However, I have been cooking a standard competition style brisket in order to perfect my craft.  But sometimes you just want to cook something different.  So I decided I should try a salt and pepper Texas Brisket Wrapped in Butcher Paper.  I developed a basic rub and cooked the Brisket over oak.  The traditional Texas smoking wood.

Texas brisket

Texas Brisket Wrapped in Butcher Paper

Add the rub ingredients into a bowl and mix.  Set aside.  Make sure to weigh the ingredients.  As you want equal parts salt and pepper by weight not volume.

The Rub

Mix 1/2 cup Worcestershire Sauce with 3 cups of water in a spray bottle.  Shake well.  Set aside.

Spritz

Trim the brisket removing most of the thick fat around the point.  Then trim the fat cap so that it is about 1/4 inch thick.

Trim the Brisket

Lightly dust the brisket with the rub.  Trust me a little goes a long ways.  Let the brisket sit out and come up in temperature while you get your smoker to 225 degrees.

Lightly Season

Once your smoker gets to 225 degrees add the brisket.

Add to the smoker

Spritz the brisket with the Worcestershire sauce mixture every 30-45 minutes.

Spritz

Once the brisket develops a nice dark bark it is time to wrap.  I found that this occurs somewhere in the 165-180 degree range.  This occurred about 8 hours into the cook.  It varies each and every time that I do it.  Basically you want a nice bark that has a nice dark color.  Something that screams eat me!

Eat Me

Wrap the brisket in about 6-8 feet of butcher paper.  Make sure that the paper is not coated or waxed.  You want to use clean butcher paper that is not treated in any way, shape or form.  I found a nice roll of butcher paper at Sam’s Club. You can pick this stuff up at most big box stores or restaurant supply stores.

Wrap and place on the smoker

Once the brisket is wrapped, place it back on the smoker until the brisket is probe tender.  Basically you can slide a skewer easily through the brisket without any resistance.  This occurred about 3-4 hours after I wrapped the brisket.

When the brisket is ready, remove it from the smoker.  You will see that the paper absorbed some moisture but most of the moisture is in the brisket.

Butcher paper brisket

Basically the paper absorbed the moisture that would have made the bark soggy.  The bark is amazing when you cook this way.

Texas Brisket sliced

Slice the flat against the grain and then turn to a 45 degree angle and slice the fatty portion.  Remember the fatty portion’s grain runs perpendicular to the flat portion’s grain.

Texas Brisket Fat Sliced

This was by far the best brisket that I have ever cooked.  It was tasty, tender and downright delicious.  Dana agreed and basically called all of my other briskets OK.  Thanks Dana.

best brisket

The salt and pepper created a nice bark, the Worcestershire spritz enhanced the beef flavor and kept the meat moist and the butcher paper kept the bark crisp while keeping in all of the moisture.  If you haven’t cooked a brisket like this you have to.

5 from 1 vote
Texas Brisket Wrapped in Butcher Paper
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
12 hrs
Total Time
12 hrs 20 mins
 
The best way to cook a brisket. A Salt and Pepper based rub that is simple and produces the best brisket around! The brisket is then wrapped in butcher paper to keep the bark crisp while retaining all of the moisture while the brisket finishes cooking!
Course: Brisket
Cuisine: BBQ
Servings: 8
Author: Rex
Ingredients
Texas Brisket
  • 1 packer brisket
  • 1/2 to 1 cup Salt and Pepper Brisket Rub see recipe below
  • 6-8 ft butcher paper
Salt and Pepper Brisket Rub
  • 50 grams Kosher Salt
  • 50 grams Coarse Black Pepper
  • 12 grams onion powder
  • 12 grams granulated garlic
  • 5 grams cayenne pepper
Instructions
  1. Add the rub ingredients into a bowl and mix. Set aside. Make sure to weigh the ingredients. As you want equal parts salt and pepper by weight not volume.
  2. Mix 1/2 cup Worcestershire Sauce with 3 cups of water in a spray bottle. Shake well. Set aside.
  3. Trim the brisket removing most of the thick fat around the point. Then trim the fat cap so that it is about 1/4 inch thick.
  4. Lightly dust the brisket with the rub. Trust me a little goes a long ways. Let the brisket sit out and come up in temperature while you get your smoker to 225 degrees.
  5. Once your smoker gets to 225 degrees add the brisket.
  6. Spritz the brisket with the Worcestershire sauce mixture every 30-45 minutes.
  7. Once the brisket develops a nice dark bark it is time to wrap. I found that this occurs somewhere in the 165-180 degree range. This occurred about 8 hours into the cook. It varies each and every time that I do it. Basically you want a nice bark that has a nice dark color. Something that screams eat me!
  8. Wrap the brisket in about 6-8 feet of butcher paper. Make sure that the paper is not coated or waxed. You want to use clean butcher paper that is not treated in any way, shape or form. I found a nice roll of butcher paper at Sam's Club. You can pick this stuff up at most big box stores or restaurant supply stores.
  9. Once the brisket is wrapped, place it back on the smoker until the brisket is probe tender. Basically you can slide a skewer easily through the brisket without any resistance. This occurred about 3-4 hours after I wrapped the brisket.
  10. When the brisket is ready, remove it from the smoker. You will see that the paper absorbed some moisture but most of the moisture is in the brisket.
  11. Basically the paper absorbed the moisture that would have made the bark soggy. The bark is amazing when you cook this way.
  12. Slice the flat against the grain and then turn to a 45 degree angle and slice the fatty portion. Remember the fatty portion's grain runs perpendicular to the flat portion's grain.

Rex

Rex is an avid griller, barbecuer and bacon enthusiast. He is the Pitmaster for the Rex BBQ competition team. Rex was also featured on the TV show American Grilled. If you have any questions or wish to have Rex decode your favorite dish, click on the ASK REX link in the menu above.

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One thought on “Texas Brisket Wrapped in Butcher Paper

  1. 5 stars
    Sounds very similar to the way I do mine. I use a peach/pecan pellet blend, and the rub is different, other than that I add beef stock and a bit of soy sometimes to the spritz (if the brisket is large, someone once told me it helps the flavours penetrate). And I’ve always been a temperature is king guy, and always cook till 203-205F which has yet to fail me.

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